One of the ways to add interest to a landscaping plan is to utilize hanging baskets of flowers or other plants. Typically, when a hanging plant is used in this manner, it is suspended from a roof overhang by wires or macrame. Although a suspended, live, colorful plant can be an attractive addition to a landscaping plan, conversely, a wilted or dead plant suspended where it is especially visible can be a significant detraction from the plan. Thus, the major problem with using suspended plants in a landscaping plan is the difficulty of watering them regularly, especially in relatively dry climates.
The foregoing problem associated with suspended plants has been recognized in such United States patents as the patents to Scribner U.S. Pat. No. 1,063,395, Bank U.S. Pat. No. 1,538,081, Pointer, Jr. U.S. Pat. No. 4,270,696, and Hahn U.S. Pat. No. 4,760,666. Each of these patented watering devices, and others similar to them, all involve positioning a reservoir or head of water above the plant and providing for release of the water according to the mechanisms involved. The Bank patent also discloses a hose connected to the reservoir and draped down from the elevated reservoir and plant for connection to a water faucet at ground level.
There are several disadvantages with the patented devices for watering hanging baskets of flowers. It is immediately apparent that, whereas the hanging flower baskets are intended to add natural color and beauty to the landscape, these watering mechanisms introduce another object of attention which, however designed, may detract from the intended purpose. Moreover, these known devices are either relatively complex, costly, unsightly, wasteful of water and/or are incompatible with modern water-conserving irrigation systems. In addition, most require adjustment or undesirable maintenance and in one case, Scribner, a specially molded flower pot.
Regarding water conservation, the use of drip irrigation systems has become almost mandatory in drier climates. None of the known devices is adapted for connection to an existing drip irrigation system whereby suspended plants are watered with drip irrigation on a schedule consistent with an overall irrigation system.